China confirms top trade negotiator Liu He to lead US trade talks Thursday

China confirmed Tuesday that top trade negotiator Liu He will visit the United States for a new round of talks thisweek despite a US pledge to go ahead with a tariff hike.

The commerce ministry said in a statement that Liu will be in the US on Thursday and Friday for the 11th round of high-level negotiations.

The talks had originally been expected to begin on Wednesday and China had not confirmed whether Liu would still travel to Washington after President Donald Trump said he would hike tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinesegoods on Friday.